What Africa Will Look Like in 100 Years

Africa’s population is booming. By 2100, it will be home to 4.4 billion people – four times its current population.

Such an increase – far larger than the global population increase of 53 per cent by 2100 – will pose significant challenges. Poverty, conflict, disease and access to education are all issues African governments will continue to face, having to build states that can support ever-increasing amounts of people.

By 2050, more than half of Africa’s 2.2bn people will live in its rapidly expanding cities. That’s the equivalent of the population of China.

The UN has counted 71 African cities with a population higher than 750,000, many of which lack the infrastructure to support large populations. These cities are growing at an unstoppable pace – expected to hold 100m more people in 2025 than they did in 2010.

Just as governments will have to cope with higher populations, greater levels of urbanisation will also challenge countries as they seek to develop.